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Following birth of son, Wieters out Friday

Following birth of son, Wieters out Friday

9/21/12: Matt Wieters lines Jon Lester's pitch to left field to drive in Adam Jones as the Orioles retake the lead in the sixth inning

By Brittany Ghiroli
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MLB.com |

BALTIMORE -- Orioles catcher Matt Wieters missed Friday night's series opener against the Red Sox after his wife gave birth to the couple's first child earlier in the day.

It's unclear if Wieters will miss any further action to be with his wife Maria and their son Maverick Luther, who was born at approximately 5:11 a.m. ET and weighed eight pounds, two ounces.

"He's got his priorities where they need to be," manager Buck Showalter said of Wieters, who he exchanged text messages with in the afternoon. "He is still at the hospital. ... He has been there obviously for quite awhile without sleep, so we'll see what tomorrow brings. He is where he should be. One thing experience allows you to do as you get older is you try to keep people from making the mistakes you made. So that's about the only advice I've given him. ... But we're excited about Maverick."

The baby will have good genes. Wieters is hitting .252 with 22 homers and 82 RBIs in 139 games this season while Maria was a cross country runner at Georgia Tech.

"Mav Wieters, got to have a chance, doesn't he?" Showalter said of the newborn's athletic prowess. "We know he is going to be over six feet tall. Just a matter if he gets into that seven-foot range so basketball could become a [possibility] for him, too. I just hope I'm around to watch him play something. That's pretty cool. We've already had a good day. Our day in the Orioles family has already been good."

In Wieters' place, Taylor Teagarden got the start behind home plate and batted ninth. Baltimore entered Friday's game leading the American League Wild Card chase and just one game behind the Yankees in the AL East. The Orioles are one game ahead of the A's for the first AL Wild Card spot and three games ahead of both the Rays and Angels.

Will Wieters play Saturday's game? Showalter wasn't saying for sure, but given where the team is, it's a definitely possibility.

"I would have been probably a little disappointed if had he tried to come in today," Showalter said. "I'm going to support him whatever way he goes, but it's the right thing."